4,375 Shares in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EVRG. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Evergy by 47.1% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Evergy during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Evergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 230.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of EVRG traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $63.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,621,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,143. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. Evergy, Inc. has a one year low of $48.04 and a one year high of $65.47. The stock's 50-day moving average is $62.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. Evergy's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This is a boost from Evergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EVRG shares. Guggenheim raised shares of Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays dropped their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $68.50 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Evergy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.79.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Evergy

Evergy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the United States. The company generates electricity through coal, landfill gas, uranium, and natural gas and oil sources, as well as solar, wind, other renewable sources. It serves residences, commercial firms, industrials, municipalities, and other electric utilities.